There haven't been many doubts about New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones‘ work ethic over his young career.

The Patriots quarterback has reportedly been present at the team's facility nearly every day this offseason. Prior to that, he was known as a workhorse at Alabama, too.

In fact, Jones was so much of a grinder at Alabama that he was willing to toss the pigskin following a late-night formal outing. Former Alabama wide receiver Mac Hereford shared a story on The Side Hustle Podcast of Jones asking him if he wanted to hold a late-night throwing session following a banquet in 2019.

“Mac’s like, ‘Hereford, you wanna catch a couple?’” Hereford said. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, but I’m not gonna get out of my suit. I’m gonna stay in my suit.’ So I’m in my suit from the banquet, Mac goes and changes — he gets in his stuff. He comes out on the field and it starts off like we’re just tossing. I’m like, ‘Alright, I guess I’ll take off the jacket. Getting a little bit hot in here.’ I’m in a button-down and some slacks out here in the Mal M. Moore practice facility.”

Then, Jones upped the intensity of the workout that made things a bit more difficult for Hereford.

“We keep throwing and then he’s like, ‘Hey, do you mind jogging this route?’ So then I’m jogging this little slant route, catching the ball. I love catching, I’m a field rat, so I love this stuff,” Hereford said. “But, I’m barefoot. I didn’t bring my cleats, so now I’ve gotten out of my church shoes. I’m barefoot in Mal M. Moore facility, it’s like 10:30 at night and we just got back from this thing, and no one else is here. I’m in a suit catching footballs from Mac Jones. Like, what is going on right now?’”

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo with NFL Draft logo in middle

Conor Roche ·

AJ Brown and Tom Brady have a lot in common.

Nick Meyer ·

Drake Maye, Eliot Wolf, J.J. McCarthy and Jayden Daniels.

Conor Roche ·

Jones didn't stop there. He continued to up the intensity even more, causing Hereford to strip down even more as a result.

“We keep doing it until it literally gets down to, I’m like ruining this collared shirt. Take off this — so I’m just in my suit pants,” Hereford said. “And I’m like, ‘I don’t want to rip my suit pants.’ I get down to compression shorts and nothing else, running routes in Mal M. Moore Facility, catching balls from Mac Jones. I’m like, ‘What is going on?’ I loved it. I’m pretty sure someone walked in and wondered what the hell is going on here?”

Mac Jones' work ethic has already been praised by new teammates. Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said last week how he was impressed to see Jones in the building every day so far, while tight end Mike Gesicki mentioned how he let him stay at his house in order to hold throwing sessions.